February 16, 2016 - EARTH - A new analysis
reveals that global water scarcity is a far greater problem than
previously thought, affecting 4 billion people—two-thirds of the world’s
population—and will be “one of the most difficult and important
challenges of this century.”

Previous analyses looked at water scarcity at an annual scale and had
found that water scarcity affected between 1.7 and 3.1 billion people.

The new study, published Friday in the journal Science Advances,
assessed water scarcity on a monthly basis, more fully capturing the
specific times of year when it could be an issue.

“Water scarcity
has become a global problem affecting us all,” study co-author Arjen
Hoekstra, a professor of water management at the University of Twente in
the Netherlands, said.

The study found that almost half of the 4 billion affected by severe
water scarcity for a month or more are in India and China. Millions of
others affected live in Bangladesh, Nigeria, Pakistan and Mexico.

The U.S. is far from immune to the problem, with 130 million people
affected by water scarcity for at least one month a year, mostly in the
states of Texas, California and Florida.

And among the rivers the study
notes that are fully or nearly depleted before reaching their end is the
Colorado River in the West.

There are also half a billion people who face severe water scarcity year round, the analysis found.

From study:

“Direct victims of the overconsumption of
water resources are the users themselves, who increasingly suffer from
water shortages during droughts,
resulting in reduced harvests and loss of income for farmers,
threatening the livelihoods of whole communities.

Businesses depending
on water in their operations or supply chain also face increasing risks
of water shortages. Other effects include biodiversity losses, low flows hampering navigation, land subsidence and salinization of soils and groundwater resources.”

The study concludes that “[m]eeting humanity’s increasing demand for
freshwater and protecting ecosystems at the same time … will be one of
the most difficult and important challenges of this century.”

The new publication follows a pair of NASA studies led by researchers from the University of California Irvine that showed that the impacts of global warming along with growing demand has caused the world’s water supply to drop to dangerous levels.

“The water table is dropping all over the world,” Jay Famiglietti,
senior water scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said at the
time. “There’s not an infinite supply of water.”

“We need to get our heads together on how we manage groundwater,” Famiglietti added, “because we’re running out of it.” - EcoWatch.

Stunned farmer: Gan said the calf was born alive and seemed to be unaffected by the fact that it was deformed. CEN

February 16, 2016 - CHINA - A calf born with two heads has stunned farmers in a small village.

The animal was born from a cow who has given birth to three healthy calves in the past.

And it would likely have been dismissed by villagers, they say - had they not seen it with their own eyes.

Farmer Gan Yuanhua said: "I heard the cow shuffling around and making
odd noises in the shed, and I knew she was about to give birth."

From his home in Shaijin Village in Linshui County, in south-west
China's Sichuan Province, he said he initially thought the cow had given
birth to twins when he saw the two heads and did not realise
immediately that it was a mutation.

The cow, who seemed to be unaffected by the fact that it was deformed, reportedly died shortly after birth.

Pictures from Gan's farm show him with the two-headed calf.

Weird occurrence: The calf and Gan Yuanhua, who says that it was born from a cow who has had three healthy calves previously. CEN

Xu Kaiwen, a local vet who has been practicing for 30 years, said the
calf's condition was caused by a genetic mutation which has yet to be
identified.

The unusual condition of being born with two heads is called polycephaly and occurs in both animals and humans.

The most common cause is that two identical twins begin to form from the
same egg, but do not separate correctly and end up sharing the same
body.

In the majority of cases, animals and humans with polycephaly die soon after birth. - Daily Mirror.

Sperm whales are found in all the world’s oceans. Adult males can reach more 20m in length and weigh 57 tonnes. Photo: China News

February 16, 2016 - EARTH - The following constitutes the latest reports of unusual and symbolic animal behavior, mass die-offs, beaching and stranding of mammals, and the appearance of rare creatures.

Two sperm whales die after beaching on coast of East China

Two sperm whales have died after beaching themselves on the East China
coast in the past two days, the China News Service reported.

On Sunday, villagers found one dead whale beached near Yangkou, in
Jiangsu province, while another whale lingered in the deeper water of a
channel nearby.

The second whale then became stranded and died on Monday afternoon, about 10km from the first while.

The other whale was towed away for inspection elsewhere. Photo: China News

Sperm whales are found in all the world’s oceans. Adult males can reach more 20m in length and weigh 57 tonnes. Photo: China News

One of the whales was an adult male about 15m long and weighing about 33 tonnes. Photo: China News

Authorities and experts measured the giant carcasses to try to determine the cause of death. Photo: China News

Fisherman Yin Qiufeng said he spotted the whale on the beach early on Sunday.

"[At first] I thought it was a capsized ship, but at a second glance I
found it was a huge fish," Yin said. "In the beginning I didn't dare go
too close to have a better look because I thought it was still alive,
but later I found out it was already dead."
The authorities fenced off the first whale to take its measurements. An
expert at the scene said it was a male adult about 15.3m long and
weighed about 33 tonnes, Xinhua reported.

WATCH: Huge sperm whale found dead on the beach in eastern China.

The body of the other whale retrieved transported to another place to be dissected.

"We will bury the body of the whale after ascertaining its cause of
death and and send some of its parts to Bhubaneswar to know the species
of the whale. We have sought the experts' opinion," he said.

Odisha forest and wildlife department officials have written a letter to
the Ministry of Forest and Environment for investigation into the cases
of whale carcasses washing ashore.

Recently, four carcasses of whales were found on the
Ganjam, Kendrapara and Puri coast. While a 33-feet long Sperm whale
beached on coastline of Ganjam district early this month, a 66-feet long
female whale washed ashore at Chinchira beach, an unmanned island under
Rajnagar block of Kendrapara district on February 6.

On February 9, carcass of a 50-feet long whale was found from the coast
near Motagaon in Brahmagiri area of Puri district. Last week, a 6 feet
long pilot whale washed ashore of Island beach near Purunabandh village
of Ganjam district.

February 16, 2016 - NICARAGUA - The Telica and Momotombo volcanoes are two stratovolcanoes in Nicaragua.

On February 13, 2016 both erupted within two hours. Enhanced volcanic activity in the region.

According to the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER),
the Telica volcano, located in the Leon department, erupted at 8:28 a.m.

Saturday morning, launching a column of ash and gas some 1,000 meters
(3,280 feet) into the air.

At least 20 smaller eruptions were
recorded at the volcano in the subsequent hours. Ashfall was reported in
some nearby communities.

About two hours after the first explosion at Telica, the
Momotombo volcano - which had been essentially dormant for 100 years
before exploding to life in December- launched a column of ash and gas more than 1,600 feet (500 meters) into the air.

February 16, 2016 - CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES - In what could be a rare 'super bloom', Death Valley is transforming from a valley of death to a valley of life.

"If you get the chance to see a bloom in Death Valley, especially a
super bloom, you should take the opportunity to see it because it could
be a once in a lifetime opportunity." - Park Ranger Alan Van
Valkenburg

Join Alan in this episode of "Death Valley Exposed" and learn more about the current bloom that is spreading across the park.

Death Valley Exposed is a video podcast series that highlights various
snapshots from Death Valley National Park.

Produced by Bristlecone Media
and the National Park Service in association with Death Valley Natural
History Association, an official nonprofit partner of Death Valley
National Park.

In Papua New Guinea’s North Coast and Islands regions, coastal flooding
is the most important climate change-related hazard. It threatens both
coastal populations and important economic centers, including provincial
capitals and economic. Image: UNDP

February 16, 2016 - PAPUA NEW GUINEA - At least six people in Papua New Guinea are reported to have died as a result of landslides and flooding caused by heavy rains in recent weeks.

The Post Courier newspaper has reported deaths in Chimbu and the Western Highlands.

It reported 200 homes have been destroyed, and bridges have been swept away in Oro and West New Britain provinces.

World Vision PNG response manager Bonie Belonio said disaster
authorities and humanitarian organisations were scrambling to assess the
extent of the damage so distribution of relief supplies could begin.

He said he believed the rains may have taken many people by surprise after the long drought.

"We are completing the assessment stage and moving into a
distribution of water containers, water purification tablets because I
think that is what is needed at this point in time and then do a quick
awareness raising and education to really ensure that the water that
they drink are purified and treated." - FBC.

Russian Emergencies Ministry members work at the
site of a residential five-storey apartment building after a gas
explosion in the early morning, in the city of Yaroslavl, northeast of
Moscow, Russia, February 16, 2016

February 16, 2016 - RUSSIA - An entire section of a five story residential building in the Russian
city of Yaroslavl has collapsed in a powerful gas explosion, which
killed 7 people. The emergencies services say many are feared trapped
under the rubble.

"Gas exploded in a five story residential building, the structure caved
in from the first to the fifth floor," an emergencies ministry
representative told RIA Novosti.

"People remain under rubble," the ministry confirmed, adding that at least ten flats have collapsed.

Rescue workers have taken seven bodies from the rubble. Kristina
Guzovskaya of the Investigation Committee for the Yaroslavl region, has
told Interfax that among the victims there are four women, one man and
two children, possibly an 11- and 6-year-old.
The identities of the dead have so far not been verified.

Up to 17 people were registered in the destroyed apartments, according to governor Sergey Yastrebov.

So far four people have been rescued from the debris, and at least three
- including a child - remain trapped. All of those rescued
reportedly suffered serious injuries and fractures and were hospitalized
in a critical condition.
There are conflicting reports as to the number of people that could have
potentially ended up under the rubble. The emergencies ministry
estimated that between seven people and 20 could have been home at the
time of the incident. Out of those officially registered in the ten
apartments, 13 are reported to be minors.

Rescue teams and fire crews continue working at the scene to save those
trapped. More than 50 pieces of equipment were deployed as part of the
search effort, in addition to almost 200 rescuers. Meanwhile the
emergencies ministry is preparing to send two rescue helicopters
equipped with medical modules to Yaroslavl to help evacuate those who
have been wounded.

The residential building has been cut off from all communications and
about 70 of its inhabitants have been temporarily accommodated at a
local recreation center.

February 16, 2016 - TECHNOLOGY - Migrants are often accused of stealing jobs from locals in
countries to which they were forced to flee, but the real threat to
employment are the robots that will likely automate 50 percent of the
global workforce by 2045.

Shocking new stats were announced during Sunday’s annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington.

Jobs at the middle of the skills curve are most at risk, according to Rice University computer science professor Moshi Vardi.

WATCH: Hubo the robot meets the rich and influential.

High end skills, including those of doctors and attorneys, are unlikely to be developed by machines in the foreseeable future and those at the low end such as food service workers are paid such low wages that automation would prove more costly.

“Folks like data entry clerks, hotel clerks, and almost anyone working in delivery or shipping are likely to suffer,” according to Vardi.

The rapid development of self-driving cars also has taxi and truck drivers worrying about their long-term future.

WATCH: TORY - efficient automated inventory robot.

It’s a shift that’s been happening since the start of the Industrial Age, but current automation displaces less than 40 percent of global employment.

A report last month from the Oxford Martin School said that the OECD estimates that 57 percent of jobs were susceptible to automations deviated greatly across the globe.

While the US and UK are below the average with 47 and 35 percent respectively, developing nations such as Thailand and Ethiopia have a higher rate with 72 and 85 percent respectively. China is estimated to have 77 percent of its jobs susceptible to automation.

Within the US, the percentage of jobs at risk varies across the country. Boston and Washington have the lowest rate of 38 percent, compared to Fresno with 54 and Las Vegas with 49 percent.

The report warned that, in dealing with the “premature industrialization” brought on by automation, “emerging and developing countries could require new growth models and a need to upskill workforces”.

This week, aircraft maker Airbus announced the launch of a program to develop humanoid robotics technology which can perform manufacturing tasks in its factories.

The company claims the robotic workers would help increase production levels rather than replace workers.Speaking at the AAAS meeting, Wendell Wallach from Yale University's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics advised that 10 percent of funding into AI and robotics should be put towards “studying, managing, and adapting to the societal impact of intelligent machines, including the impact on wages and employment.” - RT.

February 16, 2016 - HEALTH - Here are the latest news reports on the outbreak of the Zika virus.

Venezuela faces ‘worst-case scenario’ as Zika outbreak expands

In the crowded waiting room of the Vargas de Caracas hospital, the
walls are decorated with peppy pro-government slogans: “It’s only
possible with socialism.”

But the Zika epidemic has struck as the
socialist-ruled country is spiraling into economic chaos and the public
health system has been stripped of many basic tools of modern medicine.
Hospital patients get wheeled past closets overflowing with trash.
Stray dogs wander the hospital grounds. Doctors perform surgery without
sutures and gauze.

“Little by little, medical care is disappearing,” one doctor said.

Lisseth Salas arrived at Vargas de Caracas in a state of partial paralysis, suffering from ­Guillain-Barré syndrome,
which has been linked to Zika. Two other hospitals had denied her
service — one because it had no neurologists, another because she wasn’t
in the military. As she has recovered, Salas has lacked the
immunoglobulin treatment her doctors would prefer to use.

“We
haven’t had absolutely any of it all year,” said Sabrina Maldera, an
internal medicine resident at the hospital. “We’re trying to treat
patients with our hands tied.”

Lissette Salas, a patient treated for Guillian
Barre syndrome, started to show symptoms of paralysis in her body and
has been in the hospital for a week so far. (Alejandro Cegarra for the
Washington Post)

In the Latin American fight against
the Zika virus, Venezuela stands apart. While other nations bombard
their airwaves with public-service warnings about mosquitoes and publish
tallies of new cases, Venezuela has played down the epidemic and choked
off information about its spread. For more than a year, President
Nicolás Maduro’s government has refused to release its weekly
epidemiological bulletin, just as it has hidden statistics on inflation
and the homicide rate.

Public health experts and doctors believe that
the government is dramatically lowballing the Zika toll, which
officially stands at around 5,000 cases. Some independent experts
estimate that there have been more than half a million cases of the
mosquito-borne disease, which would give Venezuela the second-largest
Zika total behind Brazil. The government has acknowledged 255 cases of
the rare Guillain-Barré syndrome since Zika arrived last year, more than
twice the number in neighboring Colombia. The Venezuelan government has reported three Zika-related deaths, although it has not provided details.

Former health minister José Félix Oletta said Venezuela is still in the “ascent phase of the epidemic wave.”
“Venezuela
is showing the perfect scenario for how not to do things, in health,”
said Oletta, who is part of an independent medical network that
estimates there have been 412,000 Zika cases. “If you don’t establish
good communications, the first thing that grows isn’t the epidemic, it’s
the fear, the panic.”

Health experts believe that Zika arrived in this oil-producing country sometime last year, crossing the porous Amazonian border with Brazil. The Aedes mosquito that carries the virus is common here: Venezuela has suffered outbreaks in recent years of dengue and chikungunya, viruses that are also spread by the insect. Unlike Brazil, Venezuela so far has not seen a spike in cases of microcephaly, a birth defect that results in a baby having an unusually small head and can cause seizures and developmental delays. But doctors say such cases could hit as soon as April, when mothers infected by Zika over the summer start giving birth.

Last month, Venezuela’s new opposition-controlled National Assembly declared that the health system, with its shortages of medicine and equipment, had created a humanitarian crisis.

“The system isn’t prepared,” said José Manuel Olivares, an oncologist and opposition lawmaker who heads the health commission in the National Assembly.
Shortages of medicine, supplies

Public hospitals in Caracas look worn and disheveled, with graffiti-tagged

walls and broken windows. As crowds look on, relatives hoist their wounded out of cars and carry them on blood-stained stretchers or roll them in dented wheelchairs past soldiers guarding the doors.

The ninth floor of the University Clinic hospital, one of the country’s largest, has become a makeshift pediatric ward, because the air conditioners broke last fall on the floor designed to treat children. Doctors there say they have shortages of lab tubes, catheters, inhalation masks, ­X-rays, suction hoses and antibiotics. The hospital last week was treating 12 Guillain-Barré patients, more than at any time that doctors could remember. Two patients have already died. “This is totally unusual,” said one doctor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. “Every day new Guillain-Barré cases are coming in.”

Most of these patients get treated by plasmapheresis, a blood-filtering process akin to dialysis that involves being hooked to a machine for several hours over the course of a week. The hospital had to ration its immunoglobulin because there was not enough for all the patients. Starting in the late 1990s, Venezuela produced its own immunoglobulin, at a company called Quimbiotec. But that company ceased production last year as the country’s economic crisis worsened, compounded by falling oil prices and the government’s price and currency controls. The government now imports the substance.Former health minister Rafael Orihuela, who like Oletta served before Maduro’s socialist-inspired party came to power in 1999, said Venezuela has fewer than 300 hospital beds in functioning intensive-care units. He expects the Zika outbreak could cause 3,000 Guillain-Barré cases.

“This is a true problem,” he said.

Even for a normal case of Zika, which can involve a mild fever, a rash and joint pain, doctors say they are hamstrung. Many hospitals and pharmacies lack basic acetaminophen, the pain reliever sold in medications such as Tylenol. Residents have to scour the black market for scarce materials such as mosquito nets or repellant. Women who might fear getting pregnant during a time of microcephaly risk can’t find birth control at pharmacies.

“How do we do family planning if there is no birth control or condoms?” asked Oletta, the former health minister. “The solution will be abortion.” But abortion is illegal in Venezuela in most cases.

The Zika outbreak has exposed in the public health sector the kinds of stories of misinformation, scarcity and government mismanagement seen in other parts of Venezuelan life.

“It’s a microcosm of the whole country,” David Smilde, a professor of sociology at Tulane University who has researched Venezuela for two decades. “You have a government that doesn’t value transparency. You have a medical system in collapse.”

“It’s like a worst-case scenario,” added Smilde, who contracted Zika himself while in the country in January.
Freddy Ceballos, president of the Venezuelan Pharmaceutical Federation, said pharmacies lack 80 percent of their normal products.

“The situation is exceedingly grave,” he said. “It has to be the president of the republic who assumes responsibility for these problems.”

There is some mosquito fumigation in the capital, but residents say municipal officials are now rationing it, targeting houses with confirmed Zika cases. Thousands of doctors have left the country, seeking better wages and services. One young doctor said he earned 32,000 bolivares a month, about $30 at the current black-market exchange rate.

“We’re not prepared for any type of emergency. We can’t even handle normal medical problems,” the doctor said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give an interview. “This is like Africa here now. This is the real Third World.”

Julio Castro, an infectious-disease specialist at the Central University of Venezuela, has resorted to using social networks to try to understand the scope of the Zika outbreak, because of the absence of official statistics. He has graphed Google searches for Zika and is planning a Twitter campaign with a Zika hashtag to try to understand the geographic breakdown of the sickness.

“It’s unconscionable that we have the type of health system we have right now,” he said.

Salas, a 36-year-old supervisor of the maintenance staff at the private clinic where Castro has an office, was familiar with the country’s medical shortages. She was on the subway home from work one night last month when she noticed a rash on her forearms. By the time she reached her apartment, it had spread across her torso.

Over the following week, a period in which most Zika victims would recover from their mild symptoms, her condition deteriorated: She suffered burning pain in her back and head, the right side of her face and body became paralyzed, and soon she was unable to walk and speak. The fact that her sister-in-law worked in the Health Ministry helped her gain admittance to the Vargas de Caracas hospital for treatment of her Guillain-Barré, she said.

“The pain was very unpleasant, strong. I was crying,” she said, the bruises still evident on her chest where blood was removed in her treatment. “Thank God they were able to help me here.”

A couple of beds down, Tatiana de Oro, a 37-year-old maid, had made less of a recovery from the same ailment, her face still drooping from paralysis.

“Nothing has ever happened to me like this,” she said, having trouble forming her words. “This disease is truly horrible.” - Washington Post.

Consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has confirmed the first case of the Zika virus in Russia. The woman infected returned to Moscow from a holiday in the Dominican Republic, and was admitted to hospital after she spiked a fever and displayed a rash. “Thanks to strengthened preventive measures against the Zika virus on Russian territory, and to the readiness of medical institutions to diagnose and assist patients, the infected woman was immediately hospitalized with the recommendation to screen for Zika fever. A lab test using a domestic diagnosis kit showed the presence of the Zika virus in the patient’s biological fluids,” reads the agency’s statement.

The woman, whose name hasn’t been revealed, started feeling worse after several days in Moscow. She had a rash and was running a temperature, some of the common symptoms that occur in Zika patients.

Since her admission the woman has been held in an isolation ward. Her condition was reported as ‘satisfactory,’ but it was later reported that she would soon be released from the hospital.

“The women will be discharged from the hospital in the nearest future,” said the chief infectious disease doctor of Moscow on Monday, adding that “no lethal cases of the virus have been known - it’s not dangerous in everyday life, there is no epidemic in Russia.”

Since the woman was diagnosed, doctors have been constantly monitoring her family members, but found “no clinical manifestations” associated with the infection. Tests for Zika also came back negative.

The watchdog said there were no health risks to passengers who boarded the same flight with the Zika patient.

“Upon arrival all necessary antiepidemic measures were taken, there is no danger to passengers’ health,” the agency stressed. - RT.

Pregnant women test positive for Zika in Barbados

The Ministry of Health has revealed that three pregnant women in
Barbados have contracted the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne illness which
has been linked to birth defects.

The latest results from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) bring the number of confirmed cases in the island to seven.

The ministry said in a statement that the three women have been notified of the results and have been counselled.

“Specialized obstetrics care will also be provided to monitor the progress of their pregnancies,” it added.

Barbados health officials have echoed the sentiments of the World Health Organization (WHO) that the suspected link is still under investigation and the relationship between the virus and microcephaly has not been established.

“The situation is still evolving and information is being updated regularly. The Ministry of Health will continue to roll out its response based on the local, regional and international experience,” the statement said.

“As a proactive response, the Ministry has developed and disseminated guidelines to guide general practitioners, obstetricians and other health care providers in the clinical management of women who have the Zika virus during pregnancy.”

The Ministry of Health said the guidelines were developed with the full cooperation and input from the Obstetrics and Paediatrics Departments at the country’s only public hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital. - Caribbean 360.

Zika virus link to microcephaly in babies as Brazil deploys 200,000 SOLDIERS to warn people about the risks

The link between between the Zika virus and babies born with birth defects is still not conclusively proved

More evidence linking the Zika virus to birth defects in babies has been found, scientists in Brazil say.

The team at the PUC-Parana University discovered the virus in the brains of two babies who only lived for 48 hours.

The
mosquito-borne virus is thought to cause microcephaly in babies, who
are born with damaged brains and abnormally small heads.

Scientists
told the BBC that samples taken from the brain tissue of the two babies
showed that the Zika virus was still actively present.

The
scientists have been following the pregnancies of 10 women in the
north-eastern state of Paraiba - the second worst-hit by cases of
microcephaly. One of the researchers who made the possible connection
between Zika and brain defects, Dr Adriana Melo, told the BBC that cases
she has seen in the north-east of Brazil "are never microcephaly alone"
- but include other brain disorders such as dilated ventricles,
calcifications and contractures to the joints.

The BBC's Julia
Carneiro in Rio de Janeiro says that the findings add more evidence to
results announced last week by scientists in the US and Slovenia who
detected the virus in samples from other babies with microcephaly.

On
Saturday Brazil said it was deploying more than 200,000 soldiers across
the country to warn people about the risks of the virus.

President Dilma Rousseff has insisted the crisis would not "compromise" the Olympics Brazil is hosting in August. - BBC.

A leading
pediatric neurologist who has studied the brains of babies stricken
with the Zika virus says the damage is far more severe than global
health officials are telling the public.

Dr. William Dobyns was emailed the images by a specialist in Brazil and told The Daily Beast the cases are some of the worst he’s seen in more than 30 years of study. Dobyns says images also share telltale signs of viral infection, though a definitive link from the birth defects to the Zika virus has not yet been established.

The iconic image of the Zika outbreak are babies born with abnormally small heads, a condition called microcephaly. The microcephaly diagnosis is made when a baby’s head is at least two standard deviations below the mean for age and sex.

These heads are six deviations below the mean, Dobyns estimates.

“In these kids with Zika you see really severe microcephaly,” he said. “The heads are probably minus five to six standard deviations below the norm, and that’s really small. If the appearance of the head seems problematic, the brain is worse.”

Dobyns said, based on the pictures, that some of the infants may have brains that are 10 standard deviations below the mean for age and sex.

An estimated 15 percent of children born with microcephaly have normal intelligence, but in Brazil, that percentage may be zero.

“The idea that these children are mildly handicapped is a fantasy,” Dobyns said. “OK, so they’re awake and feeding, but how much does it take to be awake and be feeding?”

Microcephaly afflicts 25,000 children in the United States annually and has been linked to a number of factors like chromosomal abnormalities, malnutrition, and exposure to drugs or other toxins.

It is only infections that cause cases of microcephaly like this though.

“When a baby’s brain is growing and a severe viral infection happens, it shrinks,” Dobyns said. Brain scans show an abundance of damaged white matter, Dobyns said, indicating that trauma was incurred during development, not prescribed genetically.

Not only was development interrupted, the Zika babies’ brains look like those of children whose mothers were infected with the Cytomegalovirus. Like Zika, CMV leaves people with a mild cold but can cause severe cases of microcephaly.

Not only are CMV-ravaged brains shrunken, they don’t have ridges and wrinkles like normal brains. The condition is known as polymicrogyria and was also seen in the Zika brains. (Polymicrogyria, can produce stroke-like symptoms, seizures, and extreme muscle impairment.)

The final sign that a virus caused microcephaly in the Zika babies are calcium salts found in a critical part of the brain, Dobyns said.

The vast majority of calcium in the body goes to bones, but in this case it is deposited where it does not belong: the brain’s cerebral cortex. Once there, the deposits harden and interfere with functions ranging from memory to motor control.

It’s this “rare” combination of symptoms that Dobyns believes makes the strongest case for Zika being the cause.

“This is a well-known pattern with documentation in the literature going back decades—if not a century—and it’s proven to be viral,” Dobyns said. “The media has not picked up second line of evidence. There is a consistent pattern, a severe one.”

Dobyns’s theory is not proven though.

So far, he has only been able to view five scans and if Zika does produce severe microcephaly, why are we just seeing it now? After all, a spike in microcephaly cases was not recorded during the largest previous outbreak of Zika in French Polynesia three years ago. In Colombia, where over 5,000 pregnant women are infected, medical authorities said they have yet to see a single case of microcephaly.

Dobyns suggests that the French Polynesia outbreak was not large enough to show a statistically significant rise in microcephaly cases. Dobyns also said the medical infrastructure in Colombia may be hindering the country’s ability to accurately report whether or not there is an microcephaly spike with the Zika outbreak.

Dobyns said he hopes to get dozens more scans in the next few weeks, but while he waits, Zika marches north. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global health emergency in early February as it began “explosively” spreading through the Americas and Europe. Today, 39 countries have reported cases of Zika, with 52 travel-associated cases confirmed in the U.S.

While pregnant women in the U.S. are not in immediate danger, Dobyns gives urgency to the need for studies that can quickly nail down the cause of these severe birth defects—whether Zika or not.

“It’s coming,” Dobyns says of Zika outbreak. “The preponderance of evidence suggests it’s real and it’s a significant risk, so do you sit on your butt or do you do something? You do something.” - Daily Beast.

February 16, 2016 - SIERRA NEVADA, UNITED STATES - More than 6 billion gallons of water have poured into Lake Tahoe in less
than two days, helping the lake begin to recover from four years of
crushing drought.

Since midnight Monday, the lake has gone up 1.92 inches, the equivalent
of 6.39 billion gallons of water, according to the National Weather
Service.

The water comes as a winter storm slams the Sierra, bringing
several feet of snow to higher elevations and rain at lake level, which
sits at roughly 6,223 feet.

The lake—the second deepest in the United States behind Oregon's Crater
Lake—was hit hard this year by the drought.

Over the summer, the lake
was shockingly low.

Many boaters were unable to get their crafts into
the lake after waters pulled back from most boat launches. - Esquire.

February 16, 2016 - UNITED STATES - Assisted by a southward shift in the polar vortex, temperatures
plummeted to their lowest levels in decades in some locations of the
Northeast at the start of Valentine's Day.

The polar vortex
is a storm that is typically centered near the North Pole and tends to
keep the coldest air trapped in northern Canada. Occasionally, this
storm weakens or shifts enough to allow frigid air to plummet southward
into the United States.

The frigid weather follows one of the warmest starts to a winter on record.

Dozens of locations in the Northeast shattered record lows for the date on Sunday morning.

Many locations dipped to their lowest levels of the winter, while some
locations plunged to lower levels than all of last winter.

February 16, 2016 - AUSTRALIA - Landholders in Queensland are calling on the State Government to find the cause of methane gas bubbling in a major river, which they say has intensified in recent months.

The so-called methane seeps in the Condamine River near Chinchilla were reported in 2012, triggering a series of investigations.

But the Government has told the ABC that it does not have sufficient information to identify the cause of the seeps.

Professor Damian Barrett, the CSIRO's lead researcher into unconventional gas, has been monitoring the Condamine gas seeps.

He confirmed to the ABC that the bubbling had intensified.
"There have been changes in the flux of methane through the river over the past 12 months," he said.

WATCH: Scientists unsure cause of methane bubble.

ABC visited the most prominent methane seep in the river about six
kilometres west of the Chinchilla weir, observing large, concentrated
bubbles rising to the water's surface.

"From what I've visually seen since the first videos back when
they were originally found, they were just minor bubbles in particular
locations," Helen Bender, whose family owns two properties near the
Condamine, said.

"In terms of the number of bubbles along the river, both upstream and downstream, [it] is increasing."

A 2013 report by scientific analysis firm Norwest Corporation outlined
several "scenarios" which could be contributing to the bubbling in the
river.

These included natural events such as drought and the recharging of aquifers after floods.

Human activity such as coal seam gas (CSG) operations and water bore drilling were other possible contributing factors.

"We know that methane is coming to the surface along a fault
line, a very small fault line that occurs and intersects with the
river," said Professor Barrett, who is also the director of the Gas
Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance,a partnership between the CSIRO and the CSG industry.

"We know that the methane that is bubbling in that river is varying in
time and the reason for that — while it is unknown — could be perfectly
natural."

Origin Energy, which operates CSG wells in the district, is monitoring the bubbling in the Condamine.

"I have to question if Origin is doing the ongoing monitoring, why isn't
more of an independent person doing the ongoing monitoring so that
there's some real transparency with what's actually happening?" Ms
Bender said.

Western Darling Downs landholder and anti-coal seam gas activist John
Jenkyn said the bubbling had worsened since the arrival of the CSG
industry.

"I think [it's] the de-watering. As [the CSG companies] take all the
water out of the wells I presume the gas has found the easiest route out
of the ground, which happens to be in the river. So up she comes," he
said.

A Queensland Government report released in December 2012 found that the
cause of the bubbles was "unlikely to be determined in the short-term,
and that a long-term approach to find more science-based answers to the
phenomenon was needed".

"I think there's a lot missing in those [methane seep] reports which we
need to know the answers to now, because the bubbles are getting worse
as the CSG activities continue," Ms Bender said.

A spokesman for Queensland's Department of Natural Resources and Mines
confirmed that there was "currently insufficient information to identify
the cause of the gas seeps" and that further investigation was
warranted.

"Geological complexity and the requirement to gather and analyse surface
and subsurface data make this a long-term investigation," the spokesman
said. - ABC Australia.

MYSTERY SOLVED: A pike eel photographed near the Swansea boat ramp sent ripples through social media. Picture: Robert Tyndall.

February 16, 2016 - EARTH - The following constitutes the latest reports of unusual and symbolic animal behavior, mass die-offs, beaching and stranding of mammals, and the appearance of rare creatures.

Odd Australian creature washed up identified as pike eel

Giant eel, "messed up crocodile" or unidentified lake monster?

A creature apparently photographed at Swansea has confused and slightly
frightened locals since it washed up on social media on Monday.

Ethan Tippa, who posted the photo on Facebook, typified the general response.

"What the f--- is it?"

The answer, said marine biologist Julian Pepperell, is that it's a pike eel.

The angle of the photo made it difficult to judge the creature's length, but it seems longer than the species' average maximum of 1.8 metres.

"I think it's definitely a pike eel. The head is very indicative of that species," Dr Pepperell said.

"It's hard from the photo to get an idea of the scale."

The nocturnal pike eel is common in NSW waters, but surprisingly little is known about it.

Dr Pepperell said the species is frequently caught by fishers at night
who get "the fight of their lives" when they reel in a powerful,
thrashing predator with a nasty bite.

"There are certainly people who are bitten by them in boats," he said.

More than 10,000 sharks caught swarming off Florida coast

There are thousands of migrating sharks swarming just off Florida's
coastline, which in 2015 became the "shark attack capitol" of the US.
This new aerial footage has revealed the sheer scale of the predator
population.

The blacktip sharks are teaming up just several hundred feet away from
the shore near Palm Beach and up some 20 miles to Jupiter Beach.

In a video from Friday, Florida Atlantic University biological sciences
professor Stephen Kajiura showed off the scene as part of the aerial
blacktip shark migration surveys he and his team are conducting.
"There are literally tens of thousands of sharks a stone's throw away
from our shoreline. You could throw a pebble and literally strike a
shark. They are that close," Kajiura told CBS12.

While migration is normal for blacktip sharks this time of the year,seeing such an enormous population and at this particular location is not usual. Typically, the sharks go further south, but this year they have stayed near Palm Beach, north to the Jupiter Inlet.

He is now working to find out why sharks decided to stay in the area
rather than traveling further south along the Florida coast.

"One of the ideas may be that as they are getting south, if they are in a
suitable habitat, then why not stay," Kajiura told ABC.

WATCH: Thousands of sharks teem off Florida beaches.

Part of his survey is tagging sharks. He wants to tag 60 sharks to see
where they would be going next and study their migration patterns.

Thousands of sharks have not scared away beach-goers, though, and the coastline remains open.

"These sharks are pretty skittish," Kajiura said, explaining that it is
due to clear water in the Palm Beach area that they can differentiate
between humans and prey like fish. "So when they see a human, they swim
away."

He says that "if you look historically", very few people have
been bitten by blacktips in this area and most of the cases are usually
registered further north in Daytona. - RT.

Whale carcass removed from Bantry Bay, South Africa

The City of Cape Town successfully removed the carcass of a whale that beached in Bantry Bay.

Authorities believed that dead marine mammal posed a risk to the public.

Decomposing whales could attract sharks, and they also create an awful stench.

WATCH: Beached whale at Bantry Bay.

Samples will now be taken for research purposes, and the carcass buried in a landfill site.

Gregg Oelofse from the City of Cape Town said before the removal, "It's
going to be difficult. But the particular location of this animal means
we're going to have to take it off by towing it back out to sea."

"We're quite lucky because it's a small whale, a calf, about 6 metres in length so it makes it easier for us." - ENCA.

Dolphin found dead on east coast - days after whales died in Lincolnshire, UK

A Hornsea Coastguard officer with the dolphin. Picture: Hornsea Coastguard

A dolphin washed up dead on the east coast, just days after a number of whales were stranded along the Lincolnshire coastline.

Hornsea Coastguard was called out to the beach in East Yorkshire at
about 3pm on Friday afternoon after reports of a whale or porpoise on
the beach.

It was later identified as a white beaked dolphin, and details were passed to the Natural History Museum to arrange collection.

A spokesman for Hornsea Coastguard said: "Team paged by CGOC Humber to a
report of a whale/porpoise on the beach north of Hornsea.

"The team responded and after a short beach search located the
mammal on the beach. The mammal was identified to be a white-beaked
dolphin which was unfortunately deceased.

"A description, grid reference and measurements were recorded and passed
to CGOC Humber who will notify and pass the details on to the Natural
History Museum and arrange collection." - Grimsby Telegraph.

Delhi's bird watchers have noticed significant changes in the behaviour of migratory birds this season

While the Capital's citizens missed out on the trademark Delhi chill
over the winter months, the flip-flop winter seems to have baffled its
winged guests as well.

Some species of migratory ducks, which used to arrive in their thousands, have trickled down to hundreds.

Experts said the arrival of these birds was also delayed, and this is
being attributed to the lack of snow in their homelands in Europe and
central Asia.

Some of the migratory birds that did arrive this season, apparently, are ready to leave.

Adding to all the 'confusion', a few birds that breed only in
summer are nesting and pairing up in January, a phenomenon usually
witnessed in April, say experts.

However, it may be too soon to press the climate change alarm, some
birders caution, adding that any change in migratory behaviour could
have resulted from the disturbed habitats in the city.

Dr Sumit Dookia, Assistant Professor at the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, says: "We
have barely seen 250-300 Bar-headed geese at the Najafgarh Lake this
fall. Traditionally we would get to see 1,500 plus. They also came in
pretty late, only around the last week of November.."

Bar-headed geese

Dookia
also reported 'confused behaviour among the birds' saying that they
were 'frequently flying out to nearby wetlands of Basai and Sultanpur'.

"When it snows heavily in China and Siberia, they escape to
India. However, they need constant warm temperatures to stay put. We
assume that since both the geological regions displayed unusual winters
this time, significant changes in bird behaviour are visible," he
explained.

Bird watcher Wing Commander Vijay Sethi noted a surprising find of Ruffs
already gathering in thousands at the Dhanauri Kalan wetland in Greater
Noida, a sign that they are about to leave.

"On the other hand, some summer birds like the Indian Courser, a local
migrant, can already be spotted at the Sultanpur flats. Coppersmith
Barbets, which otherwise mate in April, can already be heard making
courtship calls at the JNU campus, Bhati mines etc. The case of the
Common Hawk Cuckoo is also the same," he added.

Faiyaz A Khudsar, scientist in charge at Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP), however, has different views.

He said: "A few species may be up or down in number, but the usual bird
diversity is visible. We have had a large number of Garganeys and Common
Teals at YBP. This goes against any argument of weather-related change
in bird behaviour. Also, this is a subject of 'phenology' which is
studied over at least 30-50 years and cannot be analysed over only a
year's observation."

He said: "Najafgarh is a beautiful site for birds, but thanks to its
location close to the upcoming Dwarka Expressway, it is highly
disturbed. This is the case in the Basai wetlands as well." - Daily Mail.